Chapter 50: Destiny Awaits

Kal noted how lucky they were that this small underground tunnel system existed under the island. It would allow the group of around fifty people to slip under the exotic base shield and get to the compound before Saren and the Geth. The tunnel itself reminded him a lot of the Prothean base they had found on Feros. The walls around them were arranged in a way that made a trapezoid shape and looked like they were made from Prothean metal. However, unlike Feros, this place seemed more well kept with far less rust. At least this Cerberus group knew how to take care of really old buildings. It was a pretty cramped tunnel though with people walking in two's. He was at the very back of the group so he could keep an eye on the payload.

The Quarian hated this plan because of all the ways it could go horribly wrong. On paper it seemed to be a pretty standard plan, the Normandy's security forces, along with a majority of the Salarians, would make a frontal assault on the base itself creating a distraction for the others. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew of the Normandy and Captain Kirrahe would split up into two groups based on Legion's blueprint of the base which he discovered on Noveria. One group would carry the drive core from the Salarian's broken ship to the center of the base and engineer it to act as a nuclear bomb. Kal had the unfortunate pleasure to lead this group, being an explosives expert and it terrified him. Sure, he had worked with a lot of bombs before but, something nuclear? That was way above his pay grade, even the slightest amount of damage would set that thing off and kill them all. Luckily, he would have; Kaidan, Tali, Liara, Wrex, and Ashley to help him out.

Jack, walking right beside him tapped Kal's shoulder gently whispering, "Are you sure you can do this? Your staring at that thing like it's a math test you didn't study for."

Kal chuckled softly and shrugged as they walked forward, "It kind of is but really I just wish I was following you."

It was Kal's second problem with this plan, Jack would lead a smaller team of Garrus, and Legion to get the coordinates for the Mu Relay. Even though the Geth had saved them on Noveria, it was still hard to trust the thing. If that wasn't enough, watching any Human vid would tell you that splitting up was a bad idea. When either team inevitably ran into trouble, the other would not be able to come to their defense. They were going to lose people here, the question just became who.

Jack squeezed his shoulder to try and comfort him, "I know but my job is pretty simple, let Legion download some data and get out. You get to play with wires and big booms."

Kal looked at him thinking this might be the last time they got to see each other, "You wanted to know what, 'Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum ner cyar'ika' means? It roughly translates to, 'I will hold you in my heart forever, my mate.' It's a... marriage proposal..."

Jack was taken aback and stared at him when the group suddenly stopped at a junction and Ashley called out from the front of the group, "This looks like where we need to separate Commander."

Legion nodded looking at his omni tool, "Affirmative, we can confirm from the blueprints that this will be the best zone to separate."

Kal wanted to scream at the timing but Jack smiled some whispering, "I think you already know my answer big guy..." He subtly kissed the side of Kal's helmet and said loudly, "Alright, Legion lead the way. With any luck we'll meet back here in one piece. I don't want anyone doing anything heroic, let's keep this simple people."

As Jack and Garrus followed the Geth disappearing around a corner, Kirrahe said, "The Krogan labs shouldn't be much farther now, and then the central courtyard."

Now that Jack was gone, all Kal's attention and fear could be directed towards the makeshift bomb. Wrex was carrying the left side while a Salarian clung to the right. Due to their considerable height difference, the bomb was slanted to the right. If either side dropped their half, it would prematurely go off and kill them instantly. Luckily, Liara was walking right behind them ready to catch either side with her biottics and help carry it for a short time. It still didn't make him feel any better knowing he had to develop a trigger mechanism and a timer since a bomb wasn't the drive core's original purpose. What if he couldn't do it in time? What if someone would have to stay behind to set it off?

A few minutes later a sneeze from Tali right beside him made Kal look away from the bomb, "You ok? What's your fever level?"

She waved her hand dismissively at him, "Stop acting like my mother, a little bit of nasal congestion won't kill me. I just wanted to congratulate you, you'll be happy together."

Kal elbowed her gently, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't brag to the crew right now thank you very much."

She giggled playfully rubbing her arm, "Ow, you bosh'tet. Anyways, we all saw that even if we didn't hear it. You might as well put a neon sign around you both filled with hearts."

Kal grumbled slightly a little irritated with how gossip oriented this crew was before motioning towards the bomb, "I think we should be worrying about how we're gonna set that thing off honestly."

Tali seemed upbeat with a skip to her step, "If we make a simple pindrop algorithm it should work perfectly. You worry too much."

Kirrahe opened the door into the lab and frowned, "We are here. Keep your guard up, not all of Cerberus will have went to fight the distraction force..."

Entering the large, sprawling lab made Kal want to throw up from the smell alone. Beds were lined up along the walls and were occupied by dead Krogan females, three or four at a time. Their bodies were left to rot on top of the bed, with massive cuts running across their stomachs. The bodies looked like they had been tossed there like trash, with insects buzzing about. Next to each bed stood a console with data results on different 'cure' solutions. The numbers next to the chemical composition ranged from #1 to #528,491. Maybe the Salarians were wrong and Cerberus had no cure, or maybe Kal just had too much wishful thinking.

The Salarian carrying the bomb made a tsk noise, "So barbaric. This is not medicine, no respect to bodies. Cross-contamination of genes. No accounts for Genophage evolution. Tsk, could do it better."

Wrex took the whole group to a stop glaring at the Salarian, "COULD DO IT BETTER?! My people have died here because of YOU! Their blood is on YOUR hands!"

Kal slowly approached him and he saw Ashley draw her weapon, he said, "Wrex, I know your angry right now, I think we all would be if this was our species. But the STG didn't do this... Cerberus did. So why don't we focus on blowing them up with the bomb your holding?"

Wrex was shouting now, "They wouldn't be here DEAD if these pyjaks hadn't made the Genophage! These Salarians deserve to die for what they put us through! What they're still putting us through!"

Before Kal could answer a loud voice suddenly burst into a loud yelling song cutting them all off, "The lights are much brighter there, you can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares. So go DOWNTOWN! Things will be great when you're DOWNTOWN! No finer place for sure, DOWNTOWN...!"

Then he heard a gunshot go off and the lights go out. All hell was about to break loose.

_o0o0o0o_

Jack couldn't help but grin like an idiot as they made their way up the elevator to the upper floors, he was technically engaged now. Just a few weeks ago if someone would've told him that Kal was not only going to take him back but marry him, Jack wouldn't have believed it. The thought he was now officially taken made him feel a little more relaxed about this whole thing. However, looking out the elevator window, Jack could see Sovereign hammering at the shield to the base. The blue ripples were becoming more and more red with each hit from Sovereign's weapons. The obvious assumption was that this shield was eventually going to break.

As if reading his mind Garrus said uncomfortably, "When that thing breaks through it won't matter about the nuke. We'll be dead anyways..."

Legion tapped away at his omni tool, "We cannot let Nazara find the Mu Relay. If our lives must be sacrificed for that goal we will gladly accept it. From our calculations we have twenty minutes before the shield is destroyed."

Jack rolled his neck from side to side while grabbing his rifle, "Then let's pick up the pace, Legion be ready to download that data."

When the door opened to the upper lab Jack's gut twisted, an Asari was on the floor covered in blood. Giving her a closer look, Jack could see she had several bullet wounds to the back of the chest. Were they too late? Had Saren somehow also gotten around the shield and gone straight here? The thought that he could've already failed made him feel a little desperate.

The Asari whimpered and opened her eyes to look up at them, "That bitch... she... she killed me..."

Jack slid down next to her getting medi gel to ease her pain, "What do you mean? What happened here? Who did this to you?"

She coughed looking sad knowing she was going to die, "Miranda... the bitch... She used me to get that stupid data and then she..."

His eyes widened in panic, oh no this Miranda already had the coordinates and was running away with them, "Hey, hey stay with me now. This is important, where is Miranda going?"

She started to go limp but a few words slipped out, "The... the Normandy... has friends on board... Ja..."

He looked up at Legion in a panic, "What's the fastest route back to the Normandy?!"

Legion tapped a few buttons, "At top speed I could be in comms range within five minutes."

Jack nodded standing up, "Go right now, we will be right behind you." Looking to Garrus who had wondered into the next room, Jack said, "Garrus we have to go!"

Garrus looked at him with wonder and fear in his blue eyes, "Jack, you need to see this..."

When Jack rounded the corner he saw a Prothean beacon in the center of the room. Except unlike Eden Prime, this beacon was pulsating with a mix of green and red lights. It was almost as if the two light patterns were struggling for dominance. If they weren't on a very tight time schedule here, Jack would actually kind of think that the light show was beautiful. However, if Miranda and her friend took the Normandy it would be all over for the entire crew, no matter when the nuke went off.

Jack grabbed Garrus arm when a deep, mechanical, invisible, voice said, "You are not Saren."

Garrus went pale while looking around, "What is that? Some kind of VI interface? Did you have anything like this on Eden Prime?"

He was about to say no when the voice continued, "Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding."

The voice was somewhat familiar to Jack so he said, "I don't think this is a VI..."

Jack felt a tingle down his spine as it spoke, "There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign." A holographic image of the ship appeared in blood red before them.

Garrus looked at Jack, "I guess we can confirm Sovereign isn't just some Reaper ship Saren found, He's the actual Reaper."

Sovereign kept a flat tone, "Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply... are."

Jack knew it was true but didn't want to admit it, "The Protheans vanished 50,000 years ago. You couldn't have been there. It's impossible."

Sovereign continued, "Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die, we are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still awaits. We are the end of everything."

Jack shook his head standing defiant, "We can still stop you here and now. Without the Mu Relay your just one machine, and machines can be broken!"

If robots could mock, this would be the tone, "Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken. The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished. The Protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the Mass Relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind."

Jack was going to take this opportunity to learn as much as he could about the Reapers from Sovereign, "Why would you construct the Mass Relays, then leave them for someone else to find?"

Sovereign seemed to want to boast now, "Your civilization is based on the technology of the Mass Relays, our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it."

Jack wanted to know if Sovereign lied to Saren about it's intentions, "What do you want from us? Slaves? Resources?"

Sovereign seemed willing to continue the conversation, "My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation. Independent, free of all weakness. You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence. Why should I explain our purpose to the likes of you?"

Jack tried something else since that answer wasn't helpful, "Where did you come from? Who built you?"

Sovereign responded lazily for a flat voice, "We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite. Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten, we will endure."

Jack needed to know more from this annoyingly vague machine, "Where are the rest of the Reapers? Are you the last of your kind?"

The Reaper paused for a brief moment, "We are legion. The time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot escape your doom."

Jack laughed showing false confidence, "I wouldn't count on that, you piece of junk. I'm going to get the Mu Relay coordinates first."

Sovereign's image started to fade away, "Your words are as empty and hollow as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over."

A familiar roar filled his ears and a sudden blast could be seen outside. Sovereign had been saving his power for a larger blast and now the shield was breaking. It was like a wild fire spreading in the sky and Geth dropships swarmed forward. Jack started pulling Garrus with him so they could run when a song started to play, "The lights are much brighter there..."